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When reviewing a title I often come across an internal dialogue in the form of a line of questioning that ends up sounding a little like this: "Where's all the depth? Shouldn't there be more stuff I can do?", "Does it matter? Are you having fun?", "Actually I am, but I'm afraid it won't last". For a game sporting as little as 8 stages and 10 vehicles, you'd think the fun would quickly run out, but Playrise Edge have nailed Table Top Racing's 'Kart' gameplay so perfectly that it's hard…

The appearance of Might & Magic Clash of Heroes on the iOS platform marks its third transplantation from the original DS release. After garnering praise for both its handheld and console release, mobile gamers can now experience the wonderfully paced and executed Tactical-RPG from Capybara Games, the minds behind Critter Crunch and co-authors of Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP.
Explaining the mechanics might take a moment, but those paying attention may already remember a g…

After Ziggurat, it was going to be interesting to see what Action Button Entertainment came up with next. We're a little late to the party on this one, but with the release of TNNS (which is pronounced tennis), they seem to have cemented themselves as a maker of games with simple mechanics and premises, that reward an increase of skill from the player, while having very engaging low-fi presentation. TNNS is a variation on both Pong and Breakout, with a subtle change of control, and a r…

The original Joe Danger for the PSN was a heck of a ride - fluid, fast and packed full of collectables and objectives to complete, it was joy to play. Now Hello Games have brought their stunt-riding racer-come-high-scorer to the App Store and while it can take some getting used to the manic pace, Joe Danger Touch is no less addictive or fun than its bigger brother.
Where the original title had more of an exploratory edge to its gameplay (akin to a hybrid of Excitebike and Trials HD),…

After the incredible success of Cut the Rope, developer Zeptolab undoubtedly spent more than a moment wondering just how they'd follow it up. As it turns out, they've branched out in a new direction - albeit one still featuring sugary treats and three-star rated puzzlers - and players will have to flick and stick blobs of pudding together to create the ultimate Pudding Monster.
In each stage the player is given a handful of puddings they can flick around the screen. As with similarly…

Minigore could easily be considered one of the staple titles of the iOS platform - despite its (now) relatively mundane concept of throwing hordes of enemies at you while you control the hero with a twin-stick setup, its execution and presentation remained the high-water mark for a long time.
Mountain Sheep's sequel, Minigore 2: Zombies, returns without pomp or ceremony. As soon as you load up you're dumped straight in to the first stage and you can choose to use the auto-aim system o…

For those of you out there who are fans of Vice City and used to the quirks of iOS gaming (that is to say, touch-based gaming controls) then I can get you in and out of this review fairly quickly: 'It's everything you loved about the original, but with less adequate - though still useable - controls'. Also it's gorgeous.'
For everyone else, lets dig a little deeper.
Rockstar Games' second third-person foray in their Grand Theft Auto series is still regarded an all-time classic, even…

Gameloft's Modern Combat series has gone from strength to strength and the fourth title, Zero Hour, steps things up once again. Unfortunately there are also strangely archaic hold-overs being dragged in its wake, preventing the big-console inspired game from being an all-time classic.
The hold-over I speak of is the AI. By now fans of the series have come to appreciate, and maybe even love the way Gameloft have pitched their controls, giving players access to tight, action-packed leve…

Storm Raiders by Atypical Games and Revo Solutions has been given a huge visual overhaul, giving the Sky Gamblers series exactly what it needed to remain the best in show. Considering previous titles had almost perfected flight simulator gameplay for the iOS platform, pairing the game up with famous locations, rendered in gorgeous detail and polished with high resolution textures makes this a must-have all on is own.
However, leaving the review there would skip over important details,…

I rarely say this, but every now and then a developer actually 'gets it'. 'Gets what' you say? They get tie-in products, which is all the more strange for Angry Birds Star Wars not only being a mash-up of two very popular franchises, but the game isn't even new - it's an add on. Yet still, here I sit playing the game, gaze firmly fixed on my targets as I attempt to solve yet another tricky puzzle.Over the years this sort of puzzle design is what Angry Birds has come to specialize in an…

Girls like Robots, published by Adult Swim is the most charming and entertaining seating arrangement simulator on the App Store. Now before you all run away out of boredom, let's clarify that. Yes the core mechanic of the game is to find the optimal seating arrangement between a collection of colorful characters that either love or loathe each other, but it's through the characters themselves, and how the game keeps unrolling new situations that makes this a puzzle game that's certainl…

So many auto-runners vie for attention now it can seem like a vast generic blur of jumping, sliding and coin-grabbing albeit with a gimmick here or there to prop it up. Punch Quest by Rocketcat Games and Madgarden makes no apologies for jumping in on the bandwagon, but it does so with as much pomp and excitement as Jetpack Joyride, while also bringing something far more interesting to the table - near endless brawling.
The name says it all - your character starts and ends their…

When you have cars, a race-track and checkpoints, your first assumption is generally that the game you're playing is a racer. If we were to forget about Carmageddon's colorful history, you'd likely approach the game like any other, but you'd be playing it wrong. See, it's not that you can't race to the finish line, but rather that it's not the most profitable, be it for your in-game piggy bank or for your more intangible emotional piggy bank. Some days you just want to tear something a…

Imagine you have to rush a bunch of Brazil-bound Coconut Jugglers through a terminal and on to their plane, only to find that they're harboring dozens of contraband items on their body. You'd be upset too, but thankfully in Funky Smugglers you can pluck those items out of their 'hiding spots' without a moment's hesitation, thwarting the efforts of those who would seek to breech the security of the airport.
You're given 'three' attempts at failing before your game is over in Funky Smug…

2012 must be the year of the tentacle (which sounds like a great sequel to the famous Lucasarts adventure game). How else can you explain not one but two highly unique, and successful games based about an octopus’ numerous noodly appendages? Tentacles: Enter the Dolphin, made by Microsoft Studios, out of all unlikely developers is a tale of a lab created abomination named Lemmy, who is swallowed by his creator, the mad scientist Dr. Phluff (who has the head of a dolphin), and has…